Spotlight
Our weekly round-up of letters published in the Grand Island Independent.
1
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss Donald Trump, Grand Island skate park, running red lights
- Updated
A look at Trump’s character
Seventy percent of all books bought in the United States are bought by women. Those in Make America Great Again are afraid of a matriarchy where they will become powerless, a voiceless chattel, always at the mercy of women and women-favoring laws. For how many centuries have women had the vast weight of responsibilities and so few rights?
Religions have a built-in male supremacist structure. Its convoluted myths put males in all the starring roles and were used to crush female-revering beliefs and to conduct a reign of terror against women in modern USA — look at Dobbs. That is the experience of all women who live in places dominated by male-centric religions.
It’s amazing that anyone thinks a convicted felon already having trouble paying hundreds of millions in civil suit bonds and fines, who has been caught red-handed with the mishandling of hundreds of classified government documents, should have again the position of commander-in-chief.
Donald Trump didn’t lower your taxes. He didn’t get your roads fixed or bridges built. He didn’t get you healthcare coverage, lower the price of your prescriptions, decrease the deficit, end the opioid crisis. He didn’t make COVID disappear, didn’t make Mexico pay for the wall. He didn’t put America First and he sure didn’t drain the swamp, but he had a negative job loss — as Hoover did.
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Mark Milley, called Trump a damaged person. Trump returned to Capitol Hill on June 13, the first time since that infamous day, Jan. 6, 2021. The GOP greeted Trump with applause and cheek kissing — have they no shame.
Gerald Kosmicki
Grand Island
Opportunity Scholarships save us money
According to the Grand Island Public School 2022-23 Annual Report that was mailed to households the first week of March this year, the cost per pupil in the GIPS system was $15,027.
Grand Island Central Catholic has a 6-12 grade enrollment of 301 students and a maximum enrollment of 420. Heartland Lutheran has a 9-12 enrollment of 62 students and a maximum enrollment of 100 students. Trinity Lutheran has a K-8 grade enrollment of 253 students and a maximum enrollment of 330 students. Central Catholic will be adding a pre-K to fifth-grade school with a maximum enrollment of 330. The following figures were obtained by calling each school and requesting the information. I do not know the enrollment of other churches that may have schools.
So the above schools for the school year 2023-24, saved the taxpayers of Grand Island $9,256,632. With the addition of the new Central Catholic Elementary School, this would add nearly $5 million more in savings for 2024-25. If all three schools were at capacity, this would save the taxpayers of Grand Island over $17 million.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program can help save money on your property taxes.
Darrell Dey
Grand Island
People are running red lights
I’ve noticed an alarming number of people running red lights lately. To be clear, you must stop if the traffic light has changed to yellow and you’ve not yet entered the intersection. That’s the law!
Should you speed up to make the yellow light, and it changes to red before you get through, you’ve basically run the red light.
Potential traffic ticket or potential accident, you choose.
Any way you look at it, it’s a very stupid and dangerous thing to do.
Leonard McCarty
Grand Island
We don’t need another skate park
Another skate park? Do we need one? The last time I went past the one we have, there were two kids using it. Can’t the city find a better way to spend our money? Or better yet, why not save it for something that would be enjoyed by a larger percent of our residents. In my opinion, another skate park should be about the last thing on the list for community development.
Teresa Picthall
Grand Island
2
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss lack of Grand Island Cemetery upkeep, Willie Mays
Dying grass at cemetery is concerning
I am concerned with the lack of care to the dying grass and bare areas in the Grand Island Cemetery. This is not the first year it has been noticed, but was this way last year also.
This year with new graves being covered with new sod, the rest of these areas look so bleak and dead. This sod is sadly going to have the same fate, and it is a sorry sight.
As my friend and I attended to recent graves of our mothers, we were very concerned. Even with the much needed rain prior to Mother’s Day, the new sod looked wilted and nothing is being done to revive any new growth surrounding the new sod. So many other areas are totally bare and it is a shame that nothing is growing or being tested for lack of nutrients.
We went to the Cemetery Shop to ask vital questions and were informed that “the grass just isn’t growing!” There were only two employees on that Saturday. We were not happy with the excuses given, not that it was their fault.
This seems to be a job for the City of Grand Island’s horticulturist. Doesn’t that seem logical? So why then haven’t soil samples been taken to discover what is lacking in the soil?
We even asked if we could replace the sod at our mother’s graves, and were informed that sod had already been purchased and placed in different areas and “it isn’t faring well either!” So any sod we would purchase would also come to the same fate.
Who is in charge of this dilemma?
Jenifer Cook
Omaha
True greatness is timeless
After listening to President Joe Biden’s speech on June 6 in France regarding the D-Day event, I was left with an empty sense of the greatness of this tremulous event in the history of mankind.
I got to thinking about President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech on Nov. 10, 1863. It is a fact that true greatness is timeless and that is what Lincoln provided. I will borrow some of his speech here and know that what he said way back 161 years ago would be appropriate for this current D-Day event.
“We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.... The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
If you did listen to President Biden’s long, drawn-out speech and compare it to Lincoln’s very short but timeless speech, well there is no comparison, as one is great and timeless and the other, well it was just another speech.
Loren Avey
Grand Island
How to make social media safer
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlined recommendations to make social media safer for kids. Yet parents and children are still waiting for change. He issued a renewed call for legislators to take action and also called for a Surgeon General’s Warning on social media.
Social media has become an important contributor to our youth mental health crisis. We are in the middle of an emergency. It’s essential that Congress act with speed and urgency. The health and well-being of our kids is at stake.
And with the passing of Willie Mays, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Willie’s family, his friends across the game of baseball, Giants fans everywhere, and countless admirers across the world.
Willie took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our national pastime.
Just after his career was ascending, Willie served his country in the U.S. Army in 1952-53. As the 1954 National League MVP, he led the Giants to victory in the World Series, where he made one of the most memorable plays ever with “The Catch” in the deep center field of Polo Grounds. All told, Willie was a two-time MVP, a 24-time All-Star, a 12-time Gold Glover, a selection in one of baseball’s Greatest Living Players in 2015, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom later that year.
And yet his incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching Willie denominate the game in every way imaginable. We will never forget this true giant on and off the field.
Paul Bacon
Hallandale Beach, Florida
3
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss nuclear weapons, American value
Iran close to making nuclear weapons
It appears Iran is close to having enough enriched uranium to produce nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) carries out routine inspections of Iran’s declared atomic facilities. It recently reported Iran has enough uranium for several nuclear weapons, which could be produced in a matter of a few weeks. Iran purchased 300 tons of refined uranium from Niger.
Iran has enriched its uranium stockpile to 60%, and it can continue the enrichment process to the weapons grade level of 90%.
The IAEA believes Iran might have secret facilities producing enriched uranium for nuclear devices at undeclared locations where uranium particles have been detected.
If Iran produces nuclear weapons, Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries, will probably rush to produce their nuclear weapons. Israel, who Iran calls the Little Satan (U.S. is called the Great Satan), will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, and it will surely try to destroy them. The potential for a major war could be triggered by Iran producing nuclear weapons.
Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry, New Hampshire
A distorted sense of value
Americans today have a badly distorted sense of value.
We place high value on a large house with many bedrooms but often neglect to bring even a single child into the world to enhance our joy.
We believe we must obtain and use as many credit cards as possible but don’t think to work sufficient hours in a day to pay off those debts and avoid debt slavery.
We place a high value on obnoxious and expensive video games but fail to take advantage of the free books available in the public library.
We target jobs and professions that have marginal value to society and wonder why the community goes downhill around us.
We treat our bodies to all kinds of insults and addictions and decline to go walking regularly, ignoring the proverbial wisdom “Health is true wealth.”
We do not take advice from our elders because we believe there is little value in it.
When we do not understand what has real value in life, we do not actually have real values. We should not be surprised that we lack real happiness and contentment.
In addition, there’s the Trump story. Some folks look at Donald Trump and see an orange Jesus. Others look at him and see an orange jumpsuit.
It used to be that Americans cared about the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, truth-telling and false witness. They did an evaluation of character to decide whether to vote for a candidate.
Today people don’t think character contributes much to qualifying someone for office. What is important is the candidate’s power to bring the cost of groceries down.
Republicans have always been about protecting corporations and the wealthy, but isn’t this taking economics just a little too far?
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
More like this...
'; oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append(sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } }); } // Build engagement set $.each(oResponse.assets, function(index) { if (index == 1 && sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == null) { sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = oResponse.assets[0].id; } // Display assets once origin is found // Find origin then begin displaying assets if (bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { if (this.id == sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Found orgin a second time. Stop gathering assets and kill next_url bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = null; oEngagementMore_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.remove(); } else if (bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false && this.id != 'ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c') { // Display asset var sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = ''; if (this.content.includes('engagement-asset') && iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c < iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c ++; sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c += '
' + this.content + '
'; } } } else { if (this.id == sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Origin found. Begin displaying assets bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; } else { // Origin found is false. Skip asset // Fail-safe in case origin is not present in set. This can be removed when origin is fixed. if (bFirstRun_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { // Stored first id sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = this.id; bFirstRun_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = false; } else if (this.id == sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // We've started again. Force origin sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c; bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; } // end Fail-safe } } // Append engagement assets to container oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append(sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); // Stop traversing asset array if (iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c >= iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; return false; } }); // Include block_id on newly added list items oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.find('.engagement-item.original').each(function() { var sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = scrubURL($(this).find("a.centered-content-link").attr("href")); if(sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c!="javascript:void(0)"){ // Add content discovery tracking sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c += '#tncms-source=endcard-gallery'; // Add to image and headlines links $(this).removeClass('original').find("a.centered-content-link").attr("href", sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } }); // Check next URL if (sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c && bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false) { // if origin hasn't been found yet and we hit next_url. Trigger the set to pull in again. if (bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false) { // No origin yet. Call the populate function __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } else { // Append sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c to engagement set oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append('
'); if (iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c < iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Get next url and request more assets __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(oEngagementMore_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.data('next-url')); } } } // Add total count to container if (bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { // Add total count to container oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.attr("data-engagement-total", iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); // Remove engagement loading spinner oEngagementSpinner_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.remove(); return false; } } else { // Empty asset set returned. Go back in for a real set if(__tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].attempts<2){ if(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c==null||sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c==""){ sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = "/news/local/grand-island-speaks-up-letters-to-the-editor-for-the-week-of-jun-28-2024/collection_ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c.html"; } __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].attempts++; } } }); } } // Rewrite URL for preview // TODO move to one location function scrubURL(sURL) { if (typeof sURL != 'undefined'){ return sURL; } }
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss Donald Trump, Grand Island skate park, running red lights
A look at Trump’s character
Seventy percent of all books bought in the United States are bought by women. Those in Make America Great Again are afraid of a matriarchy where they will become powerless, a voiceless chattel, always at the mercy of women and women-favoring laws. For how many centuries have women had the vast weight of responsibilities and so few rights?
Religions have a built-in male supremacist structure. Its convoluted myths put males in all the starring roles and were used to crush female-revering beliefs and to conduct a reign of terror against women in modern USA — look at Dobbs. That is the experience of all women who live in places dominated by male-centric religions.
It’s amazing that anyone thinks a convicted felon already having trouble paying hundreds of millions in civil suit bonds and fines, who has been caught red-handed with the mishandling of hundreds of classified government documents, should have again the position of commander-in-chief.
Donald Trump didn’t lower your taxes. He didn’t get your roads fixed or bridges built. He didn’t get you healthcare coverage, lower the price of your prescriptions, decrease the deficit, end the opioid crisis. He didn’t make COVID disappear, didn’t make Mexico pay for the wall. He didn’t put America First and he sure didn’t drain the swamp, but he had a negative job loss — as Hoover did.
Chairman of the Joint Chief of Staff, Mark Milley, called Trump a damaged person. Trump returned to Capitol Hill on June 13, the first time since that infamous day, Jan. 6, 2021. The GOP greeted Trump with applause and cheek kissing — have they no shame.
Gerald Kosmicki
Grand Island
Opportunity Scholarships save us money
According to the Grand Island Public School 2022-23 Annual Report that was mailed to households the first week of March this year, the cost per pupil in the GIPS system was $15,027.
Grand Island Central Catholic has a 6-12 grade enrollment of 301 students and a maximum enrollment of 420. Heartland Lutheran has a 9-12 enrollment of 62 students and a maximum enrollment of 100 students. Trinity Lutheran has a K-8 grade enrollment of 253 students and a maximum enrollment of 330 students. Central Catholic will be adding a pre-K to fifth-grade school with a maximum enrollment of 330. The following figures were obtained by calling each school and requesting the information. I do not know the enrollment of other churches that may have schools.
So the above schools for the school year 2023-24, saved the taxpayers of Grand Island $9,256,632. With the addition of the new Central Catholic Elementary School, this would add nearly $5 million more in savings for 2024-25. If all three schools were at capacity, this would save the taxpayers of Grand Island over $17 million.
The Opportunity Scholarship Program can help save money on your property taxes.
Darrell Dey
Grand Island
People are running red lights
I’ve noticed an alarming number of people running red lights lately. To be clear, you must stop if the traffic light has changed to yellow and you’ve not yet entered the intersection. That’s the law!
Should you speed up to make the yellow light, and it changes to red before you get through, you’ve basically run the red light.
Potential traffic ticket or potential accident, you choose.
Any way you look at it, it’s a very stupid and dangerous thing to do.
Leonard McCarty
Grand Island
We don’t need another skate park
Another skate park? Do we need one? The last time I went past the one we have, there were two kids using it. Can’t the city find a better way to spend our money? Or better yet, why not save it for something that would be enjoyed by a larger percent of our residents. In my opinion, another skate park should be about the last thing on the list for community development.
Teresa Picthall
Grand Island
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss lack of Grand Island Cemetery upkeep, Willie Mays
Dying grass at cemetery is concerning
I am concerned with the lack of care to the dying grass and bare areas in the Grand Island Cemetery. This is not the first year it has been noticed, but was this way last year also.
This year with new graves being covered with new sod, the rest of these areas look so bleak and dead. This sod is sadly going to have the same fate, and it is a sorry sight.
As my friend and I attended to recent graves of our mothers, we were very concerned. Even with the much needed rain prior to Mother’s Day, the new sod looked wilted and nothing is being done to revive any new growth surrounding the new sod. So many other areas are totally bare and it is a shame that nothing is growing or being tested for lack of nutrients.
We went to the Cemetery Shop to ask vital questions and were informed that “the grass just isn’t growing!” There were only two employees on that Saturday. We were not happy with the excuses given, not that it was their fault.
This seems to be a job for the City of Grand Island’s horticulturist. Doesn’t that seem logical? So why then haven’t soil samples been taken to discover what is lacking in the soil?
We even asked if we could replace the sod at our mother’s graves, and were informed that sod had already been purchased and placed in different areas and “it isn’t faring well either!” So any sod we would purchase would also come to the same fate.
Who is in charge of this dilemma?
Jenifer Cook
Omaha
True greatness is timeless
After listening to President Joe Biden’s speech on June 6 in France regarding the D-Day event, I was left with an empty sense of the greatness of this tremulous event in the history of mankind.
I got to thinking about President Abraham Lincoln’s Gettysburg speech on Nov. 10, 1863. It is a fact that true greatness is timeless and that is what Lincoln provided. I will borrow some of his speech here and know that what he said way back 161 years ago would be appropriate for this current D-Day event.
“We are met on a great battlefield of that war. We have come to dedicate a portion of that field, as a final resting place for those who here gave their lives that that nation might live.... The brave men, living and dead, who struggled here, have consecrated it, far above our poor power to add or detract. The world will little note, nor long remember what we say here, but it can never forget what they did here.”
If you did listen to President Biden’s long, drawn-out speech and compare it to Lincoln’s very short but timeless speech, well there is no comparison, as one is great and timeless and the other, well it was just another speech.
Loren Avey
Grand Island
How to make social media safer
In May 2023, U.S. Surgeon General Vivek Murthy outlined recommendations to make social media safer for kids. Yet parents and children are still waiting for change. He issued a renewed call for legislators to take action and also called for a Surgeon General’s Warning on social media.
Social media has become an important contributor to our youth mental health crisis. We are in the middle of an emergency. It’s essential that Congress act with speed and urgency. The health and well-being of our kids is at stake.
And with the passing of Willie Mays, I would like to extend my deepest condolences to Willie’s family, his friends across the game of baseball, Giants fans everywhere, and countless admirers across the world.
Willie took his all-around brilliance from the Birmingham Black Barons of the Negro American League to the historic Giants franchise. From coast to coast in New York and San Francisco, Willie inspired generations of players and fans as the game grew and truly earned its place as our national pastime.
Just after his career was ascending, Willie served his country in the U.S. Army in 1952-53. As the 1954 National League MVP, he led the Giants to victory in the World Series, where he made one of the most memorable plays ever with “The Catch” in the deep center field of Polo Grounds. All told, Willie was a two-time MVP, a 24-time All-Star, a 12-time Gold Glover, a selection in one of baseball’s Greatest Living Players in 2015, and a recipient of the Presidential Medal of Freedom later that year.
And yet his incredible achievements and statistics do not begin to describe the awe that came with watching Willie denominate the game in every way imaginable. We will never forget this true giant on and off the field.
Paul Bacon
Hallandale Beach, Florida
Letters to the Editor: Readers discuss nuclear weapons, American value
Iran close to making nuclear weapons
It appears Iran is close to having enough enriched uranium to produce nuclear weapons. The International Atomic Energy Association (IAEA) carries out routine inspections of Iran’s declared atomic facilities. It recently reported Iran has enough uranium for several nuclear weapons, which could be produced in a matter of a few weeks. Iran purchased 300 tons of refined uranium from Niger.
Iran has enriched its uranium stockpile to 60%, and it can continue the enrichment process to the weapons grade level of 90%.
The IAEA believes Iran might have secret facilities producing enriched uranium for nuclear devices at undeclared locations where uranium particles have been detected.
If Iran produces nuclear weapons, Middle East countries, including Saudi Arabia and other Sunni countries, will probably rush to produce their nuclear weapons. Israel, who Iran calls the Little Satan (U.S. is called the Great Satan), will not allow Iran to have nuclear weapons, and it will surely try to destroy them. The potential for a major war could be triggered by Iran producing nuclear weapons.
Donald Moskowitz
Londonderry, New Hampshire
A distorted sense of value
Americans today have a badly distorted sense of value.
We place high value on a large house with many bedrooms but often neglect to bring even a single child into the world to enhance our joy.
We believe we must obtain and use as many credit cards as possible but don’t think to work sufficient hours in a day to pay off those debts and avoid debt slavery.
We place a high value on obnoxious and expensive video games but fail to take advantage of the free books available in the public library.
We target jobs and professions that have marginal value to society and wonder why the community goes downhill around us.
We treat our bodies to all kinds of insults and addictions and decline to go walking regularly, ignoring the proverbial wisdom “Health is true wealth.”
We do not take advice from our elders because we believe there is little value in it.
When we do not understand what has real value in life, we do not actually have real values. We should not be surprised that we lack real happiness and contentment.
In addition, there’s the Trump story. Some folks look at Donald Trump and see an orange Jesus. Others look at him and see an orange jumpsuit.
It used to be that Americans cared about the difference between good and evil, right and wrong, truth-telling and false witness. They did an evaluation of character to decide whether to vote for a candidate.
Today people don’t think character contributes much to qualifying someone for office. What is important is the candidate’s power to bring the cost of groceries down.
Republicans have always been about protecting corporations and the wealthy, but isn’t this taking economics just a little too far?
Kimball Shinkoskey
Woods Cross, Utah
More like this...
'; oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append(sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } }); } // Build engagement set $.each(oResponse.assets, function(index) { if (index == 1 && sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == null) { sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = oResponse.assets[0].id; } // Display assets once origin is found // Find origin then begin displaying assets if (bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { if (this.id == sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Found orgin a second time. Stop gathering assets and kill next_url bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = null; oEngagementMore_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.remove(); } else if (bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false && this.id != 'ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c') { // Display asset var sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = ''; if (this.content.includes('engagement-asset') && iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c < iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c ++; sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c += '
' + this.content + '
'; } } } else { if (this.id == sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Origin found. Begin displaying assets bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; } else { // Origin found is false. Skip asset // Fail-safe in case origin is not present in set. This can be removed when origin is fixed. if (bFirstRun_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { // Stored first id sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = this.id; bFirstRun_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = false; } else if (this.id == sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // We've started again. Force origin sOriginID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = sFirstID_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c; bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; } // end Fail-safe } } // Append engagement assets to container oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append(sHTML_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); // Stop traversing asset array if (iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c >= iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = true; return false; } }); // Include block_id on newly added list items oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.find('.engagement-item.original').each(function() { var sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = scrubURL($(this).find("a.centered-content-link").attr("href")); if(sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c!="javascript:void(0)"){ // Add content discovery tracking sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c += '#tncms-source=endcard-gallery'; // Add to image and headlines links $(this).removeClass('original').find("a.centered-content-link").attr("href", sHref_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } }); // Check next URL if (sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c && bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false) { // if origin hasn't been found yet and we hit next_url. Trigger the set to pull in again. if (bFoundOrigin_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == false) { // No origin yet. Call the populate function __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); } else { // Append sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c to engagement set oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.append('
'); if (iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c < iMaxDisplay_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c) { // Get next url and request more assets __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(oEngagementMore_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.data('next-url')); } } } // Add total count to container if (bStop_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c == true) { // Add total count to container oEngagementContainer_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.attr("data-engagement-total", iDisplayCount_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); // Remove engagement loading spinner oEngagementSpinner_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c.remove(); return false; } } else { // Empty asset set returned. Go back in for a real set if(__tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].attempts<2){ if(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c==null||sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c==""){ sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c = "/news/local/grand-island-speaks-up-letters-to-the-editor-for-the-week-of-jun-28-2024/collection_ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c.html"; } __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].populate(sNextUrl_ca4ef883_45d1_54e9_83e0_87b9d0195e7c); __tnt.engagement.assets["ca4ef883-45d1-54e9-83e0-87b9d0195e7c"].attempts++; } } }); } } // Rewrite URL for preview // TODO move to one location function scrubURL(sURL) { if (typeof sURL != 'undefined'){ return sURL; } }
Tags
- Letters
- Wire
- Dcc
'); var s = document.createElement('script'); s.setAttribute('src', 'https://assets.revcontent.com/master/delivery.js'); document.body.appendChild(s); window.removeEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); __tnt.log('Load Rev Content'); } } }, 100); window.addEventListener('scroll', throttledRevContent); }